Temporary tattoo or body inks are well known in the art, and have been used to decorate the human body for various purposes throughout human history. Body decoration is widespread through much of the world. The use of temporary inks or other substances to temporarily decorate the body is also widespread, ranging from henna tattoos to synthetic inks designed to have a temporary effect. Various methods and compositions for applying the inks result in different lifespans of the tattoo itself.
A number of compositions for providing temporary tattoos or body decorations have been used to generate such inks historically, ranging from ash to clay to colourants from plants. Very little has historically been known about the long term effects of applying many of these compositions to the human body.
Permanent tattoo inks are also widespread, although their application is often painful and the permanent nature of these inks either dissuades people from using them or otherwise leads to self-evident problems with having permanent markings on the human body.
The use of temporary tattoos has gained in popularity in recent years. Parents are more accepting of these for use on their young and pre-adult aged children, and they have become a useful expressive tool for users of all ages for purposes ranging from general artistic or personal expression to showcasing support around pop culture and sporting events.
Many prior art tattoo and body inks suffer from problems related to the length of time the inks are effective being too short and/or being rendered ineffective too easily through regular wear activities. In addition, the health side effects of some of the elements used in prior art permanent and temporary tattoo inks have either not been extensively studied or have been shown to have at least some detrimental effects. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved temporary tattoo/body ink.